Teaching a cultivation method

The lights in his parents' room soon went out. Both were exhausted in body and mind, and after a late-night snack, they went to bed.

Jiang Dongjun drew the curtains and continued his research in his bedroom.

This piece of "thousand-year whale rubber" was black and dull, its surface riddled with pits. Its appearance could hardly have been worse.

Jiang Dongjun suspected it was the very piece Huo Yuhao had picked up for a bargain, so he summoned the Light of Time and Space and shone it on the rubber.

A brief piece of information fed back into Jiang Dongjun's mind.

Sure enough, it's that piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue!

Tsk, tsk... you can even upgrade this? Seven drops of soul liquid to restore it to perfect condition? Done!

And the Immortal Spirit Fungus, too. Let's do them all together!

Fifty-one drops of soul liquid flew out of the small metal bottle and landed on the four spiritual treasures.

A relentless hiss, hiss, hiss filled the air as the four spiritual treasures began changing one after another.

Nourished by the liquid, the clump of Immortal Spirit Fungus seemed to come alive. It swelled slightly, becoming much plumper, while its skin lightened until it finally turned brown.

In fact, the information he received mentioned more than restoring its medicinal potency. He could keep feeding it soul liquid to increase its age and bring it back to life from death... soul liquid could do anything!

But there was no need.

The further changes would consume enormous amounts of soul liquid.

At this stage, rather than pour large quantities of soul liquid into external objects, he would be better off using it directly to improve his martial soul's quality and push it into the top tier.

After being nourished by seven drops of soul liquid, the surface of the ten-thousand-year whale glue softened, as though coated in black mud. Gradually, that black mud hardened into a glossy membrane.

Jiang Dongjun knew it was about ready. He reached out and peeled the oily membrane off the whale rubber.

A deep yellow gleam shone out.

Once the entire membrane had been shed, it had become a dark golden crystal with a smooth surface.

Its identity as ten-thousand-year whale glue was laid bare!

The Light of Time and Space shone on the crystal peach. It was fresh and had no problems whatsoever.

Eight hundred and eighty-four drops of soul liquid to evolve it into a ten-thousand-year crystal peach?

Ten drops of soul liquid to obtain a crystal peach sapling?

Before the Light of Time and Space had recovered, Jiang Dongjun had also used soul liquid to randomly "upgrade" objects. The soul tools in his possession that his yin spirit could control were examples.

But he had no control over the direction of their enhancement. He could only charge ahead blindly, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Now that the Light of Time and Space had recovered, its assistance made both the direction of enhancement and the required quantities perfectly clear.

It was just that these two options offered by the thousand-year crystal peach...

Jiang Dongjun shook his head. Neither satisfied him.

If he had over eight hundred drops of soul liquid, he would use them directly to help his Fireball Martial Soul break into the top tier.

He could afford ten drops, but what use was planting a sapling now?

At its natural growth rate, by the time it could bear thousand-year crystal peaches, he would either have become a god and an exalted ancestor or long since turned into a pile of dry bones.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

In a dozen or so breaths, Jiang Dongjun had eaten the large peach. He spat out only a crystal-like peach pit, which he carefully put away in his storage ring.

Lights out, into bed, and off to sleep.

That night, the Jiang family slept soundly.

After Qian Duoduo returned, however, the Sea God Pavilion was like a still pond struck by a pebble, stirred as it had not been in a long time. Several esteemed elders personally rushed to Old Dragon Ravine and stayed there all night.

Stars and moonlight filled the sky.

In the dim depths beneath Old Dragon Ravine, three powerful men whose status surpassed that of any emperor on the continent stood in midair, examining the enormous, lustrous white fungus before them.

One was Qian Duoduo, built like a bear, with a foul expression, looking as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.

Another was an old man in white, ordinary in appearance and mild in bearing, with a solemn expression and a faint hint of pleasure in his eyes.

Both were merely supporting figures.

The central figure between them was a frail, stooped old man. He seemed like a candle guttering in the wind, dressed in gray cloth robes. Even standing, his waist was bent at nearly a right angle, and he leaned on a cane.

His clouded yellow eyes fixed on the Immortal Spirit Fungus. On his old face, so deeply wrinkled it could have trapped a double-digit number of flies, a wistful expression was somehow still discernible.

Had Jiang Dongjun been there, he would have recognized all three at once.

Qian Duoduo!

Yan Shaozhe!

And... the Sea God Pavilion Master, the level ninety-nine Limit Douluo with the title "Dragon God," Mu En!

Qian Duoduo and Yan Shaozhe were old rivals. Their expressions made it clear that Yan Shaozhe had once again gotten the better of Qian Duoduo.

Had he played a fine hand disastrously, holding a crucial bargaining chip only to let his opponent turn the tables?

Well, all one could say was that a doormat really was no match for a player.

"Teacher?"

Yan Shaozhe called softly. Seeing the stooped old man respond, he hurried to ask his question.

"Teacher, does it really contain immortal spirit qi from the Divine Realm? Does it offer you any insight?"

"It did not come from the Divine Realm. The fungus produced it itself."

The stooped old man corrected him, then sighed.

"There is too little, just a tiny wisp. It really is only enough to lay a foundation for a talented soul master. For me, it would be a cup of water against a blazing cartload of firewood-a waste."

"Even with a thousandfold growth rate, I cannot wait that long, and it cannot reach a hundred thousand years to become an immortal spirit fungus king. No matter how many ten-thousand-year Immortal Spirit Fungi there are, they are of no use to me."

The stooped old man waved a hand and instructed, "Yan Shaozhe, once it matures, give it to Xiaotao to eat. It may not remove her evil fire, but it will certainly reduce the frequency of its outbreaks and strengthen her ability to suppress it."

At those words, Yan Shaozhe glanced at Qian Duoduo, his eyes brimming with smug satisfaction. Reverting to his old habits, he began speaking with barbed insinuations.

"Teacher, Dean Qian donated the Immortal Spirit Fungus to the academy. For us to assign it just like that, and to my disciple at that, really goes against the rules. I think we should leave the decision to Dean Qian. I believe Dean Qian understands the greater good and will certainly find the most suitable person to consume it."

"Yan Shaozhe, shut your mouth!"

The stooped old man erupted in anger. He thrust his cane against empty air as though planting it on the ground, sending out rings of ripples.

"Duoduo, I will insist on having my way this once. Xiaotao will eat the Immortal Spirit Fungus, and there will be no further discussion. As compensation, once we return, I will convene a Sea God Pavilion Meeting to increase support for your Soul Tool Department. We will discuss the details at the meeting. Ask for whatever you need; I will stand behind you and support you."

Mu En appeared to be making a forceful decision, but he was actually helping Qian Duoduo out of an awkward position.

If Qian Duoduo were forced to say it himself, he would suffer a tremendous loss of face, and the feud between the two would erupt in full.

With a dark expression, Qian Duoduo could only nod. "As you say, Mu En."

"All right, I will go down into the Yin Pool and have a look. When I was young, I came here to admire the wondrous mountain mists, yet I never realized this was a Land of Yin-Yang Harmony formed by the union of heavenly timing and earthly terrain."

"Teacher, be careful."

"Mu En, be careful."

Morning.

Morning light spilled into the courtyard. While the cook prepared breakfast, Jiang Dongjun called his parents into the backyard.

Jiang Ming asked in surprise, "Dongjun, you really have a surprise for us?"

Jiang Dongjun nodded. "Dad, Mom, I have a cultivation method I want you to try, to see whether you can practice it normally."

"A cultivation... cultivation method? You mean a meditation method, right?" Diwu Ying corrected him.

"More or less. You can call it a meditation method or a visualization method. I named it the 'Great Sun Visualization Method.'"

After his initial surprise, Jiang Ming's thoughts went further.

"Dongjun, did you obtain an inheritance from that item?"

"It was only inspiration, not an inheritance," Jiang Ming explained. "I saw a blazing sun inside that Golden Disc. Afterward, I recalled it many times and created a visualization method based on it. Once I completed the method, I entered deep meditation the very first time I practiced it, so I believe it works. It is yang-aligned, and I want you both to try practicing it too."

"I'll go first." Jiang Ming did not hesitate in the slightest. "Dongjun, what do I need to do?"